This preseason is the most intriguing in years for Dallas due to the abundance of position battles and uncertain roster spots. Many players are under a lot of pressure to perform well in these exhibition games, whether it is for a starting spot or to simply make the team. Below are my top 10.

10. FS Alan Ball

Ball’s roster spot is obviously secure. The same can probably be said about his starting job, although that is still somewhat debatable. Nonetheless, Ball is under a lot of pressure to prove the Cowboys made the right decision in cutting veteran Ken Hamlin. He must show he is physical enough to play safety and hold off the up-and-coming second-year man Michael Hamlin. I previously posted an in-depth breakdown of the Ball/Hamlin battle.

9. LT Alex Barron

Barron probably won’t play tonight against the Raiders after injuring his ankle in the Hall of Fame game. It is unclear when Barron hurt himself and how that affected his play, but he sure didn’t perform well. His roster spot isn’t in jeopardy, but fans want to see enough from Barron to know the Cowboys got the best of the Barron/Carpenter trade.

Phillips moonlighted as a fullback, but his loss increases the probability of H-Back/TE Scott Sicko and FB/H-Back Chris Gronkowski making the team. Both players are more versatile than Anderson, but I think the Cowboys value Anderson’s blocking ability enough to retain him. Still, he needs to play well.

7. TE Martellus Bennett

Bennett was in a tight battle with John Phillips for the No. 2 tight end job before Phillips was lost for the season with an ACL tear. In my opinion, Bennett was going to lose that battle. He is an excellent blocker( I gave him a “B+” in my 2009 Tight End Grades), but Phillips’ blocking appeared to improve enough that he may have overtaken Bennett.

Some of the pressure was lifted off of Bennett’s shoulders when Phillips went down, but there are still questions about his maturity, work ethic, and commitment to football. He does appear to be working harder this offseason than in prior ones, but he still needs to show the coaches he can be counted on as the primary backup to Jason Witten.

6. WR Sam Hurd

Hurd has always been a valuable special teams player in Dallas, but there are some talented wide outs behind him (Jesse Holley, Manuel Johnson, Terrell Hudgins) who may offer more potential on offense.

Further, there is no guarantee the Cowboys will keep six wide receivers. If they only retain five, Hurd will be battling Kevin Ogletree and the three aforementioned youngsters for that final spot.

The pressure on Siavii just skyrocketed with the supplemental draft selection of Josh Brent. Brent has a tremendous motor and showed a lot of potential on Sunday night despite just arriving in Dallas. His play-making ability appears to be greater than Siavii’s.

The Cowboys also selected DE/DT Sean Lissemore in the seventh round of the draft this year, so Siavii has a lot of competition for his roster spot. If he doesn’t step up, he’ll lose it.

Williams said he learned more in one year from watching Brooking and James than he did in his entire college career.

Williams has so much athleticism and speed that you sometimes wonder if he relies on it too much. In the NFL, a misstep in any direction spells disaster for any player, regardless of his speed.

Williams did okay in run support in the Cowboys’ first preseason game, but he looked lost in coverage at times. That is a big problem since he is fighting to become the team’s nickel linebacker.

His battle with rookie Sean Lee will have to wait another week, as Lee is out for tonight’s game against Oakland. Williams has a big-time opportunity tonight (and the rest of the preseason), and his roster spot is really on the line. Don’t dismiss the idea of the Cowboys keeping a player like Leon Williams, who has already made some plays this preseason, ahead of Jason.

3. RT Robert Brewster

Coach Wade Phillips half-heartedly praised Brewster’s play in Dallas’ initial preseason game, but that may have been to boost his confidence. I intently watched Brewster multiple times on each of his plays, and he really struggled against Cincinnati. He displayed poor footwork, even at his more natural right tackle position. At left tackle, he was severely over-matched.

It will be difficult for Dallas to release a second-year player with so little game film, but with roster spots basically guaranteed for Doug Free, Marc Colombo, and Alex Barron, Brewster may be in a competition with rookie Sam Young for a roster spot. The Cowboys could potentially move Brewster to guard.

2. CBs Jamar Wall/Cletis Gordon/Bryan McCann

I’ve detailed the fourth cornerback battle in the past. Gordon is leading the pack right now, but the gap between the three players isn’t enormous. With Alan Ball and Akwasi Owusu-Ansah at safety, the Cowboys have two “extra” cornerbacks at another position. Thus, I predict only one of the three cornerbacks listed above will make the final roster.

I personally like McCann to win the job, but his recent injury (along with Gordon’s) has opened the door for Wall (opened the door for Wall, get it?) to step up. Frankly, Wall has looked awful in coverage in practices and the first game, but the Cowboys did invest a draft pick in him.

1. K David Buehler

This shouldn’t be a surprise. In fact, I’ve talked about the pressure on Buehler so much in the past that I’m not even going to add anything here.

4 Responses to 10 Dallas Cowboys Under Most Pressure This Preseason

Yes, yes, yes, ….. I agree. A couple of things I think need to happen. One is that barring a major improvement tonight they need to go ahead and move Brewster to OG. Two and I have been saying for a while is move Wall to SS. He looked decent against the run and we know he is a hitter. His coverage skills would be less in focus at SS. Problem is that we have two decent looking players at SS, in McCray and Church. Unless I am a madman I see no way Wall makes this team. McCray has better coverage skills I know, plus his special teams play and Church has been decent all along. To me T. Williams is already playing at a higher level than Wall at CB and at this point he is doing it on pure athleticism. Lastly, Hurd needs multiple chances at receiver in the game. I would actually like to see him with the #1s. I may be missing the call on him, but he seems to be a pracice player. Sometimes the game is just too big for people. Guys like McCray and Brandon Sharpe may be the opposite. Not great practice players, but they find a way to make a play. BTW Sharpe is one of those college DEs who is moving to ILB. I think I mentioned that around draft time. He is surely raw, WAY RAW, and may have been plain lucky. He did have college production though. I’m just using him as an example and I think they would like to have him on the practice squad. He has no shot at the 53 man.

In checking other teams around the league, I must say that having this much talent (3 CBs that would start for just most other teams, the best 4 LB corps in the NFL, pro-bowl TE, WR, QB, OG and NT probably the best punter in the league) is truly a blessing. Its so great to read about the battle for the 4th CB and 4th WR!!!